Pakistan inducts advanced surface-to-air missile system to its arsenal

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan has inducted Chinese made LY-80 Surface-to-Air Missile to its defence system, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

A statement from the military’s public affairs wing said Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was the chief guest at the ceremony to induct new missile system to Pakistan’s defence logistics.3

LY-80 is a Chinese mobile Air Defense system, capable of tracking and destroying variety of aerial targets at longer ranges flying at low and medium altitude.

The missile is able to engage aerial targets at high altitude; the mid-range LY-80 is also able to intercept very low-flying targets at a distance of up to about 40 kilometers, filling the gap between the HQ-7 short-range SAM and the HQ-9 long-range SAM systems.

In May 2016, Pentagon had released a report China was considering to establish additional naval logistics hubs in countries with which it has a long-standing friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, “such as Pakistan”

The report pointed out that Pakistan remains China’s “primary customer” for conventional weapons and China engages in both arms sales and defence industrial cooperation with Pakistan.

“We have noticed an increase in capability and force posture by the Chinese military in areas close to the border with India,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia Abraham M Denmark told reporters after submitting the report to Congress.

“It is difficult to say how much of this is driven by internal considerations to maintain internal stability, and how much of it is an external consideration,” he added.

The Pentagon report also shed light on tensions between China and India as a cause of concern. “Tensions remain along disputed portions of the Sino-Indian border, where both sides patrol with armed forces,” it warned.